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Hi there. I have given the Rhodesia (disambiguation) page an overhaul in order to make it more consistent with the guidelines for disambiguation pages and to make the presentation more consistent as well. I figured it would be a five-minute job, but... you know how these things go. :) I have corrected a couple of dates that I am sure were incorrect -- e.g., you had Northern Rhodesia existing until 1963, but if Zambia didn't come into being until October 24, 1964, there's an unaccountable gap there. If I have not taken something into account, please let me know.
However, the main reason for writing is to ask for your help in sorting out some other dates, as I'd rather clear them up between us than have us operating at cross purposes. First I'll start with the good news: all of the dates in the Southern Rhodesia / Rhodesia / Zimbabwe Rhodesia / Zimbabwe section are consistent within that section. (Phew!) But some of the dates in the Northern Rhodesia / Zambia section are inconsistent and multiple dates between the two section are inconsistent.
With respect to Northern Rhodesia, I'm confused about anything before 1911. First, the first two items overlap, and the third item doesn't make sense when compared against the way you originally presented all of the rest of the information -- i.e., who governed North West Rhodesia and North East Rhodesia between 1900 and 1911?
Then there's date consistency between Northern Rhodesia and Southern Rhodesia. According to the second item under Northern Rhodesia / Zambia, the Rhodesia protectorate lasted from 1895 to 1900 (second item), but according to the information under Southern Rhodesia / Rhodesia / Zimbabwe Rhodesia / Zimbabwe it lasted from 1895 to 1901 (third item).
I guess what it boils down to is the following:
Thanks very much!
-- Craig 14:42, 28 October 2005 (UTC)
Hi, sorry for the lengthy delay. Yes, timeline would probably be a more suitable title with the dismabiguation as an aside (rather than the other way around). I'm sorry to learn that this seemingly comprehensive source proved to be so inconsistent. I'm facing the same problem as you, being in need of print sources. Just finding an internet source pertaining to Zambezia, seems rather problematic, as most links lead to the Mozambican province rather than the short-lived historical entity (which is as it should be, but makes it all the more difficult for us). Most online sources, therefore, seem cursory at best (e.g. [1], [2], etc.), but the U.S. Dept. of State overview I just tracked may prove useful ( PDF), but it, too, is rather cursory and fails to note the Northwest Northeast divisions, for ex. (in non-answer to your question, I can't recall which is the correct title as per north-east, northeastern, etc.). A visit to most university libraries should clear this up, I would hope. The intro reads:
The Portuguese discovered the mouth of the Zambezi early in their voyages of exploration
along the east coast of Africa. Traders and missionaries soon penetrated the lower valley but not until 1850 did a European view the upper course of the river when Livingstone
traveled from South Africa overland into the heart of central Africa. Five years later, this
famous missionary-explorer also discovered the Victoria Falls and followed the river to its
mouth. Returning to the region in 1858, Livingstone persisted in his explorations in an
effort to expose the cruelties of the infamous slave trade.
Within thirty years, the British were to declare a protectorate (July 20, 1888) over
Zambezia, the region of the modern-day Rhodesias. From 1880 to 1888, British subjects
had negotiated numerous mining concessions from local rulers. These grants,
consolidated by Cecil Rhodes, led to the declaration of protection and the formation of the
British South Africa Company (1889). In effect, the Rhodesias remained until 1923 the
private domain of this chartered company.
The first European settlers arrived at the site of modern Salisbury on September 12, 1890.
After struggling overland from South Africa, the pioneers soon realized that the effective
occupation of the territory and the exploitation of its mineral and agricultural wealth
demanded improved communications. As a consequence, the railroad was extended from
South Africa through Bechuanaland to Salisbury and via Bulawayo to Victoria Falls,
Livingstone, Lusaka, Broken Hill and the Copper Belt along the Belgian Congo frontier.
Settlements soon were established along the line and they tended to remain concentrated
along this vital artery. In Southern Rhodesia, the railroad traverses areas of high veld, over
5,000 feet in elevation, climatically suitable for European development. European farms
and ranches spread in a broken band averaging 50 miles in width along the railroad. As a
consequence agriculture has dominated the economy of Southern Rhodesia although gold,
chrome, coal and asbestos have been exploited. Industry has developed recently and the
economy has become more diversified.
In contrast, Northern Rhodesia, with almost no land above 5,000 feet, offers little incentive
to permanent European agricultural settlement. The economy is based on mining,
concentrated particularly at Broken Hill and in the Copper Belt south of Katanga. On the
average, the population density of Northern Rhodesia is about half that of Southern
Rhodesia.
In 1895 Southern Rhodesia was separated from Zambezia as a consequence of the influx
of Europeans and given greater control over its own affairs. In 1923 after union with South
Africa was rejected by a referendum, self-governing colony status was granted. With only
slight modifications, the present form of government reflects this development.
Although by 1911, the various entities remaining in Zambezia had been amalgamated to
form Northern Rhodesia, political development had to wait until 1924 when, with the
cancellation of the charter of the British South Africa Company, the Crown assumed
responsibility for the protectorate. Due to the lack of a sizable European minority, however,
the British ruled the territory indirectly through local leaders
After many years of discussion, the two Rhodesias and neighboring Nyasaland became in
1953 the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. The union, however, did not succeed
and the United Kingdom dissolved it effective December 31, 1963. During the period of
federation the first stage of the Kariba Dam and power station was completed and, with
most of Northern and Southern Rhodesia situated within a 300-mile radius, has contributed
to the territories' economic development. If the construction of the second stage is decided
upon, this complex will generate approximately 1, 500,000 kilowatts of electricity. The
resulting 160-mile long reservoir, however, has obliterated the original boundary and made
a redefinition necessary.
Hope this will prove of some limited use until one of us tracks a decent & detailed print source. Thanks!
El_C
23:16, 19 November 2005 (UTC)
- Thanks El_C. There is some information there to digest and distill, and unfortunately I don't have time right now. However, I do hope to be able to devote some time to Wikipedia again in the next few months, and this will be one of the projects I will start with. Thanks again. --
Craig (
t|
c)
06:41, 12 March 2006 (UTC)
My refs give 'North-Western Rhodesia' and 'North-Eastern Rhodesia' as names of the BSAC territories and this is how they appear in their wikipedia articles and on the Northern Rhodesia page so I have changed them so they to link in to those pages. If anyone has refs that BSAC used the form 'North West Rhodesia' etc pls change back and change the linked pages too.
Rexparry sydney
01:47, 5 February 2007 (UTC)